UCL Semifinals: The Spanish Leg, Part 1

The Champions League semis kick off later tonight. First up Atletico Madrid host Chelsea.

We’re down to the last four of the UEFA Champions League, with the first round of the semi finals played in Spain. The first fixture has Atlético Madrid take on Chelsea at the Vicente Calderon. While Real Madrid host Bayern Munich, 15 minutes away from tonight’s action, at the Santiago Bernabeu tomorrow night. We preview the first leg:

Atlético Madrid vs Chelsea
Chelsea are coming off a terrible week of football with their loss to Sunderland – their first home loss with Mourinho at the helm – effectively ending their Premier League title hopes. However, the Blues do have a chance to make up lost ground against league leaders Liverpool this weekend, which means Mourinho will play this tie with one eye on the weekend fixture.

Chelsea’s star man Eden Hazard looks doubtful for the Madrid clash after picking up an injury against PSG in the quarterfinal round. The Belgian has been their best player by a mile and although he’ll be missed, his replacement André Schürrle has been sensational for the London side.

The misery for Mourinho’s side piles on, as they will now be without the best of their three strikers, with Samuel Eto’o out due to injury.

For Atlético, the drama this fixture brings is enticing. Although Thibaut Courtois plays for Atlético Madrid, he’s there on loan from Chelsea, meaning he’s still a Chelsea employee. While ironing out his loan details, Atlético and Chelsea had an agreement in which the young Belgian would not play against his parent club, however UEFA has declared that matter void so Courtois will play against Chelsea and will have a point to prove to his employers.

Interesting to note that it was Atlético's coach Diego Simeone who helped Mourinho pack his bags while the Portugese was at Real Madrid a season ago during the final of the Copa del Rey. This season, Simeone may have done the same for Barcelona’s Tata Martino, after the Catalans quarterfinal exit against Atleti.

Punter prediction: Atlético Madrid 2 – 1 Chelsea
Man-for-man, Atlético may not have what it takes to defeat Chelsea, but they have one of the best squads around and haven’t lost a match in the tournament. Throw in their clinical striker Diego Costa, and it’s hard to see them fall to the London side.